Sunday 24 February, 2019

16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” 17 “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” 19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” 21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” 25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” 26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”

The first thing that struck me when I read this passage was that this question about where to worship the Lord was not the one I would have asked if I had a conversation with Jesus face to face. I am guessing this issue was a big one in the life of this woman. For this to be the first thing on her mind she must have really felt it when people said she was doing worship wrong. She wanted to know how to worship the Lord correctly or why what she was doing was not correct. This passage reminds me I can ask Jesus whatever is on my mind – whenever I am confused, I can come to him and ask.

Jesus then responded by addressing the confusion – from the Passion Translation verse 23 reads “From here on, worshipping the father will not be a matter of the right place but with the right heart.” Jesus came to help us connect with the Father – in life, in worship, in freedom, in salvation. Amazing.

Thank you so much Lord for understanding how confused we get and that Jesus came to build our connections with You in the midst of our confusion. Help us to remember we can come and ask You anything. Thank You for reaching out to us all day, every day.

Written by Therese Manning